Stuart Sandler

Stuart Sandler has established a solid reputation as a designer of retro display typefaces that capture the spirit of 1950s popular culture. Whether it’s a sans serif design that looks like it’s stamped out of brushed aluminum or a Googie-influenced script, Sandler’s creations brim with the unabashed personality of lighthearted vintage typography. (Incidentally, the term Googie as a name for that space-age brand of 1950s and 60s architecture and design that reminds some people of the Jetsons, derives from one of its first notable examples, Googie’s Coffee Shop in Los Angeles.) Sandler’s, however, are not dashed-off designs. Each is carefully researched and carefully rendered to produce an authentic retro look.

According to Sandler, “When I’m not designing type, I’m shooting photographs of old car dashboards, scouring dusty antique shops and poring over my collection of books, magazines and ephemera from the 1930s, 40s and 50s.” Since the launch of his design studio and digital type foundry in 1996, Sandler’s aim has been to explore and exploit the entire spectrum of lost retro typography. From playful faux-Polynesian fonts to bouncy serif designs, Sandler’s new “old” faces stand as proud reminders of a time when typography didn’t have to be sophisticated to be hip.

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